CIVIL SOCIETY MUST PRESSURE AFRICAS

LEADER TO KEEP THEIR PROMISES, KOFI

ANNAN TELLS ADDIS AGRICULTURE MEETING

ivil society must hold political leaders and business to account measuring their actions against their promises, Kofi Annan,

Chair of the Africa Progress Panel, told a meeting in Addis Ababa on Monday, adding that malnutrition on the continent represents
political failure.
In June, African Union leaders at a meeting in Malabo renewed their 2003 commitment to allocate at least 10 percent of their
national budgets to agriculture.
We are looking at our leaders. They made fresh promises and we will see where we go from here, he told a mainly civil society
meeting. Organized by the Africa Progress Panel to discuss this years Africa Progress Report, Grain, Fish, Money, the meeting took
place on the eve of this years Africa Green Revolution Forum.
The promises which count, we must remember, are those which are implemented, which are kept, Mr Annan said.
With two thirds of Africans dependent on farming for their livelihoods, boosting Africas agriculture can create economic
opportunities, reduce malnutrition and poverty, and generate faster, fairer growth.
African farmers need more investment, better access to financial services such as loans, and quality inputs such as seeds and
fertilizers, Mr. Annan told audience at an APP event to discuss this years Africa Progress Report, Grain, Fish, Money.
You can just imagine the jobs that can be created if we went that route, Mr. Annan said, referring to the entire value chain from field
to final consumer, including farmers, suppliers, transporters, processors, and a myriad of other operators.
Unfortunately, the neglect of these sectors has allowed inequality on our continent to accelerate, he said. Malnutrition is a political
failure. And as the saying goes, people who live in democracy and under democratic rule do not starve, he said.
In addition to Mr Annan, the sessions speakers included Caroline Kende-Robb, APP Executive Director; Eleni Gabre-Madhin,
Founder of the Ethiopia Commodity Exchange; Michael OBrien-Onyeka, Executive Director of Greenpeace Africa; Sipho Moyo,
Executive Director of ONE Africa; and Strive Masiyiwa, Member of the Africa Progress Panel.
Mr Masiyiwa, who is also a telecoms entrepreneur and Chair of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), said that he
saw Africas agriculture as a business opportunity too. The involvement of African youth, especially its entrepreneurs, will be critical
to seizing this opportunity, he said.
African currently imports food worth US$35 billion each year. But African farmers should be producing the food and earning this
money. The continent could and should be feeding itself and other regions too.
Mr Masiyiwa compared Africas agriculture with changes in the telecommunications sector, describing these changes as possibly
the greatest modern revolution this continent has seen.
Less than two decades ago, 70 percent of the African population had never heard a telephone ringing; today 70 percent have a
telephone, he said.

How can we use this inspiration to boost our food and nutrition security and the prosperity of this continent, he asked.

ANG KARAGATAN
(May isang mesang nakalagay ang mga paninda-mga garapon ng pagkain at mga de-bote. May dalawang dalaga at apat na binata sa paligid ng
mesa. Maraming tao sa paligid. Isang matanda ang lalapit sa ponda.)
Tandang Terong: Humm tila matagal nang nakasalang ang sinaing ay dipa nagagatungan.
Isang Manonood: Kailangang gatungan ang sinaing nang malutot tayoymakakain.
Maring: Ang kahoy na panggatong kaya di masindihan ay higit na marami ang nasa kalan kaysa kailangan.
Isa pang manonood: Tama si Maring. Ang isay malungkot kayat naghahanap; dalawahay angkop at siyang anong sarap; ngunit pag nagtatloy isa
na ang kalabisan.Kung di matiyak ni Neneng kung sino sa kanila ang kakausapin, mga kanayon anong kailangan?
Lahat: Tanging paraay ang karagatan.
Ingkong Terong: Ayos ka na ba, Neneng?
Neneng: Tumanggi man po akoy walang mangyayari. Kagustuhan rin ninyo ang masusunod.
Ingkong Terong: At kayong apat?
Apat na Lalaki : Opo.
Ingkong Terong: Akin na, Neneng ang iyong singsing. (Aabutin sa dalaga ang singsing at ihuhulog sa tubig na nasa garapon). Kayong apat ay
magpapalabunutan kung sino ang unang sisisid sa singsing na inihulog ni Neneng. (Palabunutan). At ikaw Berting ang unang sisisid sa dagat ng pagibig upang makuha ang singsing.
Mga Tao: (Palakpakan)
Isang Tao: Pagbutihin mo, binata at si Neneng ay marami nang nailunod na talisuyo sa karagatan.
Berting: Magandang gabi sa inyong lahat Mga nariritong kanayon ni Neneng At sa iyo mutyay muling nagpupugay. Ipinangangakong nahulog mong
singsing Aking sisirit sa iyoy ibibigay Tanda ng pag-ibig na walang hangganan. Dahilan sa akoy siyang nakabunot
Ng palitong itong nagpapahintulot
Ako ay sumisid sa dagat ng nais
At ang iyong singsing ay aking makamit
Ay katunayan nang Diyos ang pumili
Na ako ngang itoy siya mong itangi.
Sumisid sa singsing na aking hinulog
Subalit di upang siyang maging irog
Kundi idaan lang muna sa pagsubok
Kayat sisirin mo ang tanong kong ito
At singsing kong ito ay nang maangkin mo
Ang singsing na itong linsot walang bato
Turan mong simula at ang dulo nito.
Berting:

Tila ang bugtong moy sinlalim ng dagat

Na di matatarok ng isip kong pahat.

Kayat iyong singsing nais mang makuha

Isa pang pagsubok ay hiling ko sinta.
Kulas:

Ang pagkakataoy isalin sa iba

Nang di masabing ikaw ay buwaya
Akong nabunot ng pang-ikalawa
Inaangkin hirang kanyang karapatan
Sumisid sa dagat ng singsing mong bugtong
Na siyang panumbas sa iyong pag-irog.

Neneng:

Kung gayon, o, Kulas, iyo nang sisirin

Ang lalim ng punot dulo niyang singsing.

Kulas:

Singsing, aking Neneng, walang punot dulo

Mayroon ngang simula at may wakas ito
Ang simulay bilog nito na panloob
At ang katapusay panlabas na bilog.
Ganyan kung gawin, singsing ng pag-ibig
Hayat nasisid ko singsing mong nahulog.

Neneng:

Iyan ang tanong diyan kay Lamberto

Kayat heto naman ang para sa iyo;
Nang ikay parito, pamula sa kanto
Ilang bahay, Kulas, ang naraanan mo?
May ilaw ay ilan, iyo sanang turan
Tingnan ko ang tibay pang-alaala mo?

Kulas:

Salamat Neneng kot iyang katanungan

Kay daling sagutin kayat aking masasabing
Akoy tanging mahal; Heto ang tugon ko:
Bahay, pito lamang at sa mga itoy
Aking natandaan, apat ang may ilawItoy patotoong isip koy malinaw.

Neneng:

Kulas, ikay mali sa iyong katugunan

Kayat isasalin itong aking tanong
Sa sinong ikatlong sa tubig lulusong
At siyang sisisid, sa singsing kong bugtong.

Nardo:

Ako ang ikatlong dapat subukin mo

Kayat iyong dinggin ang tugon koy:
Pamula sa kanto at hanggang sa rito
Walang bahay ni ilaw akong natandaan
Kundi itong ponda ni Neneng kong mahal.

Mga Tao:
Neneng:

(Palakpakan at kantiyawan)
Kung gayon ito naman ay tugunin
Pang-una sa ikatlong iyong sasagutin
Bakit ba ang tubig sa bilog na mundo
Hindi tumatapon walang ligwak ito?

Nardo:

Sa abot ng isip narito ang tugon:

Tubig, batot tao, at lahat sa mundo

Ay di tumatapon dahil sa ang globo
Ay isang malakit mabisang magneto;
Hinihigop nito ang lahat ng narito
At sa kalawakay di tayo tutungo.
Mga Tao:
Neneng:

Magaling! Mabuhay si Nardo!

Pangalawang tanong,heto nat pakinggan
Paanong buwang sa langit ay tanglaw
Aking mahihipot mapaglalaruan?
Itoy pangarap nang akoy musmos pa lamang
Kung talagang ako ay sadyang mahal mo
Paiirugan mo ang hiling kong ito.

Nardo:

Salamat, O, Ina, sa pag-aaruga mo,

Noong akoy muntit pinalalaki mo.
Isang paboritot ibig kong kuwento
Ay siyang panugon sa tanong na ito.
Sa pamamagitan ng isang salamin
Minumutyang buwan ay pabababain
Kahit sa kandungan ng mutya kot giliw
Mapaglalaruang buwang hinihiling.

Mga Tao:

Magaling! Iyan ang binata namin!...

Pakinggan natin ang tanong na ikatlo.

Nardo:

Akoy nakahanda sa pangatlong tanong

Singsing na nahulog aking sisisirin
Sukdang ikapugto ng hiningang tangan
Kung puso ng mutyay aking maaangkin.

Neneng:

Akoy nangangamba, akoy natatakot

Na ang huling tanong kaniyang masagot
Itong karagatan isang laro lamang
Ngunit paglalarong birong totohanan
Ayoko na yatang ito ay ituloy
Baka sa sagutan akoy maparool.

Ingkong Terong: Ituloy mo, apo, bahala na ako.

Neneng:

Kung gayon, Leonardo, tugunin mo ito.

Kung tayoy makasal, ay nanaisin ko
Na magpulot-gata sa bayang Mindoro
Na ating sasakyay binalsang kawayan
Na bigkis ng lubid na pawang hinabi
Sa buhanging pinot ikaw ang pipili.

Nardo:

Neneng, aking mahal, sadyang mahal kita

Kayat imposibley pag-aariin pa
Lubid na buhangin, aking pipiliin

Kung pababaunan ng aking pagkain

Bawat isang linggong kakailanganin
Sa sang dahong ipil iyong babalutin.
Neneng:

Di bat ang hiling sa akin nanggaling

Bakit ngayoy ako ang pasusulitin?

Nardo:

Pagkat paniwalang di ka sinungaling

Neneng:

Ano ang batayan ng iyong pasaring?

Nardo:

Salamat kung gayon, mutya ko at giliw

Ikaw ay may wikang tapat at matining
Nang iyong sabihin tayoy kakasalin
Inakalang tapat ikaw sa paggiliw
Kayat sa problemang aking
Kahati ka sa tuwat sa ligaya gayoy din
Ang buhanging lubid ay kaya kong gawin
Kung sa hirap nitoy kasalo ang giliw.

Neneng:

Ayokot di tama! Di pala kasal,

Ni walang sintahan ay mag-aasawa na.

Nardo:
Neneng:

Di nga mag-asawa ngunit may pagsinta!

Ay sayang! Sayang na pag-ibig
Sayang ang singsing kong nahulog sa tubig
Kung ikaw rin lang siyang sisisid
Mahangay hintin kong kumati ang tubig.

Tandang Terong: Sa unang pagkakataon ay nagkaganito ang apo ko.

Ako ang hahatol. Tama si Nardo.
Ang karagatay simula lang ng kuwento
Mula ngayon, Nardo, sa bahay pumanhik
At doon mo ihibik ang iyong pag-ibig.
Pepito:

(Iiling-iling at magkikibit ng balikat.)

Mga Tao:

Mabuhay si Ingkong Terong! Mabuhay!

Mabuhay ang karagatan, aliwang Pilipino!
(Palakpakan)

MLK's final speech:

. . . the world is all messed up. The nation is sick. Trouble is in the land; confusion all around. That's a
strange statement. But I know, somehow, that only when it is dark enough can you see the stars. And
I see God working in this period of the twentieth century in a way that men, in some strange way, are
responding.
Something is happening in our world. The masses of people are rising up. And wherever they are
assembled today, whether they are in Johannesburg, South Africa; Nairobi, Kenya; Accra, Ghana;
New York City; Atlanta, Georgia; Jackson, Mississippi; or Memphis, Tennessee -- the cry is always the
same: "We want to be free."
And another reason that I'm happy to live in this period is that we have been forced to a point where
we are going to have to grapple with the problems that men have been trying to grapple with through
history, but the demands didn't force them to do it. Survival demands that we grapple with them.
Men, for years now, have been talking about war and peace. But now, no longer can they just talk
about it. It is no longer a choice between violence and nonviolence in this world; it's nonviolence or
nonexistence. That is where we are today.
And also in the human rights revolution, if something isn't done, and done in a hurry, to bring
the colored peoples of the world out of their long years of poverty, their long years of hurt
and neglect, the whole world is doomed. Now, I'm just happy that God has allowed me to live in
this period to see what is unfolding. And I'm happy that He's allowed me to be in Memphis.
I can remember -- I can remember when Negroes were just going around as Ralph has said,
so often, scratching where they didn't itch, and laughing when they were not tickled. But
that day is all over. We mean business now, and we are determined to gain our rightful
place in God's world.
And that's all this whole thing is about. We aren't engaged in any negative protest and in any negative
arguments with anybody. We are saying that we are determined to be men. We are
determined to be people. We are saying -- We are saying that we are God's children. And
that we are God's children, we don't have to live like we are forced to live.
Now, what does all of this mean in this great period of history? It means that we've got to stay
together. We've got to stay together and maintain unity. You know, whenever Pharaoh wanted
to prolong the period of slavery in Egypt, he had a favorite, favorite formula for doing it. What was
that? He kept the slaves fighting among themselves. But whenever the slaves get together, something
happens in Pharaoh's court, and he cannot hold the slaves in slavery. When the slaves get together,
that's the beginning of getting out of slavery. Now let us maintain unity. . .
Excerpted from:
Martin Luther King, Jr
"I've Been to the Mountaintop"
delivered 3 April 1968, Mason Temple (Church of God in Christ Headquarters), Memphis,
Tennessee

MAN KNOW THYSELF

For man to know himself is for him to feel that for him there is no human master. For him Nature is his
servant, and whatsoever he wills in Nature, that shall be his reward. If he wills to be a pigmy, a
serf or a slave, that shall he be. If he wills to be a real man in possession of the things
common to man, then he shall be his own sovereign. When man fails to grasp his authority he
sinks to the level of the lower animals, and whatsoever the real man bids him do, even as if it were of
the lower animals, that much shall he do. If he says "go." He goes. If he says "come," he comes. By
this command he performs the functions of life even as by a similar command the mule, the horse, the
cow perform the will of their masters. For the last four hundred years the Negro has been in the
position of being commanded even as the lower animals are controlled. Our race has been
without a will; without a purpose of its own, for all this length of time.
Because of that we have developed few men who are able to understand the strenuousness of the age
in which we live. Where can we find in this race of ours real men. Men of character, men of purpose,
men of confidence, men of faith, men who really know themselves? I have come across so many
weaklings who profess to be leaders, and in the test I have found them but the slaves of a
nobler class. They perform the will of their masters without question. [/b]To me, a man has
no master but God. Man in his authority is a sovereign lord. As for the individual man, so of
the individual race. This feeling makes man so courageous, so bold, as to make it impossible
for his brother to intrude upon his rights.
[b]So few of us can understand what it takes to make a man - the man who will never say
die; the man who will never give up; the man who will never depend upon others to do for
him what he ought to do for himself; the man who will not blame God, who will not blame
Nature, who will not blame Fate for his condition; but the man who will go out and make
conditions to suit himself. Oh, how disgusting life becomes when on every hand you hear people
(who bear your image, who bear your resemblance) telling you that they cannot make it, that Fate is
against them, that they cannot get a chance. If 400,000,000 Negroes can only get to know
thesmelves, to know that in them is a sovereign power, is an authority that is absolute, then in the
next twenty-four hours we would have a new race, we would have a nation, an empire, - resurrected,
not from the will of others to see us rise, - but from our own determination to rise, irrespective of
what the world thinks

(1959) Patrice Lumumba, African Unity and National Independence

By 1959 Patrice Lumumba was the most prominent nationalist and independence leader in the Congo.* His fame was also spreading
beyond the nation's boundaries as reflected in this speech given at the closing session of the International Seminar organized by
the Congress for the Freedom of Culture held at the University of Ibadan in Ibadan, Nigeria.* The speech, given on March 22, 1959,
appears below.*

I thank the Congress for Freedom and Culture and the University of Ibadan for the kind invitation they extended me to
attend this international conference, where the fate of our beloved Africa being discussed.
It has been most gratifying to me to meet here a number of African ministers, men of letters, labor union leaders, journalists, and
international figures interested in the problems of Africa.
It is through these person-to-person contacts, through meetings of this sort, that African leaders can get to know each other and
draw closer together in order to create that union that is indispensable for the consolidation of African unity.
In fact, the African unity so ardently desired by all those who are concerned about the future of this continent will be possible and
will be attained only if those engaged in politics and the leaders of our respective countries demonstrate a spirit of solidarity,
concord, and fraternal collaboration in the pursuit of the common good of our peoples.
That is why the union of all patriots is indispensable, especially during this period of struggle and liberation.
The aspirations of colonized and enslaved peoples are everywhere the same; their lot too is the same. Moreover, the aims pursued
by nationalist movements in any African territory are also the same. The common goal is the liberation of Africa from the colonialist
yoke.
Since our objectives are the same, we will attain them more easily and more rapidly through union than through division.
These divisions, which the colonial powers have always exploited the better to dominate us, have played an important
role and are still playing that role in the suicide of Africa.
How can we extricate ourselves from this impasse?
In my view, there is only one way: bringing all Africans together in popular movements or unified parties.
All tendencies can coexist within these parties bringing all nationals together, and each will have its say, both in the discussion of
problems facing the country and in the conduct of public affairs.
A genuine democracy will be at work within these parties and each will have the satisfaction of expressing its opinions freely.
The more closely united we are, the better we will resist oppression, corruption, and those divisive maneuvers which experts in the
policy of divide and rule are resorting to.
This wish to have unified parties or movements in our young country must not be interpreted as a tendency toward political
monopoly or a certain brand of dictatorship. We ourselves are against despotism and dictatorship.
I wish to draw everyones attention to the fact that it is the height of wisdom to thwart from the very outset any possible
maneuvers on the part of those who would like to profit from our apparent political rivals in order to set us against each other and
thus delay our freeing ourselves from the colonialist regime.
Experience proves that in our African territories the opposition that certain people create in the name of democracy is often not
inspired by a concern for the common welfare; a thirst for glory and the furthering of personal interests are the principal if not the
only, motives for this.
It is only when we have won the independence of our countries and when our democratic institutions are stabilized that the
existence of a pluralist political system will be justified.
The existence of an intelligent, dynamic and constructive opposition is indispensable in order to counterbalance the political and
administrative action of the government in power. But this moment does not appear to have arrived yet, and dividing our efforts
today would he to render our country a disservice.
All our compatriots must be persuaded that they will not serve the general interest of the country if they are divided
or if they foster such divisions, any more than they would serve it by balkanizing our country and partitioning it into
weak little states.

Once the territory was balkanized, it would be difficult to achieve national unity again.
Calling for African unity arid then destroying its very foundations is hardly proof of a genuine desire for such unity.
In the struggle that we are peacefully waging today to win our independence, we do not intend to drive Europeans out of this
continent or seize their possessions or persecute them. We are not pirates.
On the contrary, we respect individuals and the rights of others to well-being.
The one thing we are determined to do and we would like others to understand us is to root out colonialism and imperialism from
Africa. We have long suffered and today we want to breathe the air of freedom. The Creator has given us this share of the
earth that goes by the name of the African continent; it belongs to us and we are its only masters. It is our right to make
this continent a continent of justice, law, and peace.
All of Africa is irrevocably engaged in a merciless struggle against colonialism and imperialism. We wish to bid farewell to the
rule of slavery and bastardization that has so severely wronged us. Any people that oppresses another people is neither
civilized nor Christian.
The West must free Africa as soon as possible.
The West must examine its conscience today and recognize the right of each colonized territory to freedom and dignity.
If the colonialist governments promptly understand our aspirations, we will negotiate with them, but if they
stubbornly insist on considering Africa their possession, we will be obliged to consider the colonizers the enemies of
our emancipation. Under these circumstances, we will regretfully cease to be friends with them.
I hereby publicly take it upon myself to thank all those Europeans who have spared no effort to help our peoples improve their lot.
All humanity will be grateful to them for the magnificent mission of humanization and emancipation they are carrying out in certain
parts of Africa.
We do not want to cut ourselves off from the West, for we are quite aware that no people in the world can be self-sufficient.* We
are altogether in favor of friendship between races, but the West must respond to our appeal.
Westerners must understand that friendship is not possible when the relationship between us is one of subjugation and
subordination.
The disturbances that are occurring at present in certain African territories will continue to occur if the administrative powers do not
put an end to the colonial regime. This is the only possible path to genuine peace and friendship between African and European
peoples.
We have an imperative need for financial, technical, and scientific aid from the West aimed at rapid economic development and the
stabilization of our societies.
But the capital our countries need must be invested in the form of mutual aid between nations. National governments will give this
foreign capital every sort of guarantee it wishes.
The Western technicians to whom we make an urgent appeal will come to Africa not to dominate us but to serve and aid our
countries.
Europeans must recognize and come to accept the idea that the liberation movement that we are engaged in throughout Africa is
not directed against them, nor against their possessions nor against their persons, but purely and simply against the regime of
exploitation and enslavement that we are no longer willing to tolerate. If the agree to put an immediate end to this regime
instituted by their predecessors we will live in friendship and brotherhood with them.
A twofold effort must be made to hasten the industrialization of our various regions and the economic development of the country.
To this end, we address an appeal to friendly countries to send us an abundance of capital and many technicians.
The lot of black workers must be appreciably improved. The wages they earn at present are clearly insufficient. The dire poverty of
the working classes is the source of many of the social conflicts that exist at present in our countries. Labor unions have a great
role to play in this regard, the role of protectors and educators. It is not enough merely to demand a raise in wages; there is also a
great need to educate workers in order that they may become conscious of their professional, civic, and social obligations, and also
acquire a clear conception of their rights.
On the cultural plane, the new African states must make a serious effort to further African culture. We have a culture all our
own, unparalleled moral and artistic values, an art of living and patterns of life that are ours alone. All these African

splendors must be jealously preserved and developed. We will borrow from Western civilization what is good and beautiful
and reject what is not suitable for us. This amalgam of African and European civilization will give Africa a civilization of a new type,
an authentic civilization corresponding to African realities.
Efforts must also be made to free our peoples psychologically. A certain conformism is noticeable on the part of many intellectuals,
and its origins are well known.
This conformism stems from the moral pressures and the reprisals to which black intellectuals have often been subjected. The
minute they have told the truth, they have been called dangerous revolutionaries, xenophobes, provocateurs, elements that must
he closely watched, and so on.
These moves to intimidate us and corrupt our morals must cease. We need genuine literature and a free press that brings the
opinion of the people to light, rather than more propaganda leaflets and a muzzled press.
I hope that the Congress for Freedom and Culture will aid us along these lines.
We hold out a fraternal hand to the West. Let it today give proof of the principle of equality and friendship between races that its
sons have always taught us as we sat at our desks in school, a principle written in capital letters in the Universal Declaration of the
Rights of Man. Africans must be just as free as other citizens of the human family to enjoy the fundamental liberties set forth in this
declaration and the rights proclaimed in the United Nations Charter.
The period of racial monopolies is now at an end.
African solidarity must take concrete form in facts and acts. We must form a bloc in order to demonstrate our
brotherhood to the world.
In order to do so, I suggest that governments that have already won their independence give every possible aid and support to
countries that are not yet independent.
In order to further cultural exchanges and the rapprochement of French-speaking and English-speaking countries, the teaching of
both French and English should be made compulsory in all African schools. A knowledge of both these languages will put an end to
the difficulties of communication that French-speaking and English- speaking Africans encounter when they meet. This is an
important factor for their interaction.
Territorial barriers must also be done away with so that Africans may travel freely between the various African states.
Scholarships should also be set up for students in the dependent territories.
I want to take advantage of the opportunity here offered me to pay honor publicly to Dr. Kwame NKrumah and Mr. Sekou Tour for
having succeeded in liberating our brothers in Ghana and Guinea.
Africa will not be truly free and independent as long as any part of this continent remains under foreign domination.
I conclude my remarks with this passionate appeal:
Africans, let us rise up!
Africans, let us unite!
Africans, let us walk hand in hand with those who want to help us make this beautiful continent a continent of freedom and justice!

Speech at Ford Auditorium

by Malcolm X
February 14, 1965 (the day after his house was bombed)
Detroit, Michigan
Context: At this stage in his career Malcom X had already travelled the world went to Europe, Mecca
and Africa, left Elijah Mohammed's Nation of Islam and was aligning himself with the broader
continental African movement, also his house just got firebombed.
(this is just a "brief" excerpt of his speech, the rest can be found at the link) Malcolm x does long
book-length speeches and I don't want the spambot to ban me.
There are four different types of people in the Western Hemisphere, all of whom have Africa as a common heritage,
common origin, and that's the--those of our people in Latin America, who are Black, but who are in the Spanishspeaking areas. Many of them ofttimes migrate back to Spain, the only difference being Spain has such bad
economic conditions until many of the people from Latin America don't think it's worthwhile to migrate back there.
And then the British and the French had a great deal of control in the Caribbean, in the West Indies. And so now
you have many people from the West Indies migrating to both London--rather both England and France. The
people from the British West Indies go to London, and those from the French West Indies go to Paris. And it has
put France and England since World War II in the precarious position of having a sort of a commonwealth structure
that makes it easy for all of the people in the commonwealth territories to come into their country with no
restrictions. So there's an increasing number of dark-skinned people in England and also in France.
When I was in Africa in May, I noticed a tendency on the part of the Afro-Americans to, what I call lollygag.
Everybody else who was over there had something on the ball, something they were doing, something
constructive. For instance, in Ghana, just to take Ghana as an example. There would be many refugees in Ghana
from South Africa. But those who were in Ghana were organized and were serving as pressure groups, some were
training for military--some were being trained in how to be soldiers, but others were involved as a pressure group
or lobby group to let the people of Ghana never forget what's happening to the brother in South Africa. Also you'd
have brothers there from Angola and Mozambique. But all of the Africans who were exiles from their particular
country and would be in a place like Ghana or Tanganyika, now Tanzania, they would be training. Their every move
would still be designed to offset what was happening to their people back home where they had left.
The only difference on the continent was the American Negro. Those who were over there weren't even thinking
about these over here. This was the basic difference. The Africans, when they escaped from their respective
countries that were still colonized, they didn't try and run away from the problem. But as soon as they got where
they were going, they then began to organize into pressure groups to get governmental support at the
international level against the injustices they were experiencing back home.
And as I said, the American Negro, or the Afro-American, who was in these various countries, some working for
this government, some working for that government, some just in business--they were just socializing, they had
turned their back on the cause over here, they were partying, you know.
And when I went through one country in particular, I heard a lot of their complaints and I didn't make any move on
them.
But when I got to another country, I found the Afro-Americans there were making the same complaints. So we sat
down and talked and we organized a branch in this particular country, a branch of the OAAU, Organization of AfroAmerican Unity. That one was the only one in existence at that time. Then during the summer, when I went back to
Africa, I was able in each country that I visited, to get the Afro-American community together and organize them
and make them aware of their responsibility to those of us who are still here in the lion's den.
They began to do this quite well, and when I got to Paris and London--there are many Afro-Americans in Paris, and
many in London. And in December--no, November--we organized a group in Paris and just within a very short time

they had grown into a well-organized unit. And they, in conjunction with the African community, invited me to
Paris, Tuesday, to address a large gathering of Parisians and Afro-Americans and people from the Caribbean and
also from Africa who were interested in our struggle in this country and the rate of progress that we have been
making.
But since the French government and the British government and this government here, the United States, know
that I have been almost fanatically stressing the importance of the Afro-American uniting with the African and
working as a coalition, especially in areas which are of mutual benefit to all of us. And the governments in these
different places were frightened because they know that the Black revolution that's taking place on the outside of
their house-And I might point out right here that colonialism or imperialism, as the slave system of the West is called, is not
something that's just confined to England or France or the United States. But the interests in this country are in
cahoots with the interests in France and the interests in Britain. It's one huge complex or combine, and it creates
what's known as not the American power structure or the French power structure, but it's an international power
structure. And this international power structure is used to suppress the masses of dark-skinned people all over the
world and exploit them of their natural resources.
So that the era in which you and I have been living during the past ten years most specifically has witnessed the
upsurge on the part of the Black man in Africa against the power structure.
He wants his freedom.
Now, mind you, the power structure is international, and as such, its own domestic base is in London, in Paris, in
Washington, D.C., and so forth. And the outside or external phase of the revolution, which is manifest in the
attitude and action of the Africans today is troublesome enough. The revolution on the outside of the house, or the
outside of the structure, is troublesome enough. But now the powers that be are beginning to see that this struggle
on the outside by the Black man is affecting, infecting the Black man who is on the inside of that structure. I hope
you understand what I'm trying to say.
The newly awakened people all over the world pose a problem for what's known as Western interests, which is
imperialism, colonialism, racism, and all these other negative isms or vulturistic isms. Just as the external forces
pose a grave threat, they can now see that the internal forces pose an even greater threat. But the internal forces
pose an even greater threat only when they have properly analyzed the situation and know what the stakes really
are.
Just by advocating a coalition of Africans, Afro-Americans, Arabs, and Asians who live within the structure, it
automatically has upset France, which is supposed to be one of the most liberal--heh!--countries on earth, and it
made them expose their hand. England the same way. And I don't have to tell you about this country that we are
living in now.
So when you count the number of dark-skinned people in the Western Hemisphere you can see that there are
probably over 100 million. When you consider Brazil has two-thirds what we call colored, or nonwhite, and
Venezuela, Honduras and other Central American countries, Cuba and Jamaica, and the United States and even
Canada--when you total all these people up, you have probably over 100 million. And this 100 million on the inside
of the power structure today is what is causing a great deal of concern for the power structure itself.
Not a great deal of concern for all white people, but a great deal of concern for most white people. See, if I said "all
white people" then they would call me a racist for giving a blanket condemnation of things.
And this is true; this is how they do it. They take one little word out of what you say, ignore all the rest, and then
begin to magnify it all over the world to make you look like what you actually aren't. And I'm very used to that.
So we saw that the first thing to do was to unite our people, not only unite us internally, but we have to be united
with our brothers and sisters abroad. It was for that purpose that I spent five months in the Middle East and Africa
during the summer. The trip was very enlightening, inspiring, and fruitful. I didn't go into any African country, or
any country in the Middle East for that matter, and run into any closed door, closed mind, or closed heart. I found a

warm reception and an amazingly deep interest and sympathy for the Black man in this country in regards to our
struggle for human rights.
While I was traveling, I had a chance to speak in Cairo, or rather Alexandria, with President Nasser for about an
hour and a half. He's a very brilliant man. And I can see why they're so afraid of him, and they are afraid of him-they know he can cut off their oil. And actually the only thing power respects is power. Whenever you find a man
who's in a position to show power against power then that man is respected. But you can take a man who has
power and love him all the rest of your life, nonviolently and forgivingly and all the rest of those ofttime things, and
you won't get anything out of it.
So I also had a chance to speak to President Nyerere in Tanganyika, which is now Tanzania, and also Kenyata--I
know that all of you know him. He was the head of the Mau Mau, which really brought freedom to many of the
African countries. This is true. The Mau Mau played a major role in bringing about freedom for Kenya, and not only
for Kenya but other African countries. Because what the Mau Mau did frightened the white man so much in other
countries until he said, "Well I better get this thing straight before some of them pop up here." This is good to
study because you see what makes him react: Nothing loving makes him react, nothing forgiving makes him react.
The only time he reacts is when he knows you can hurt him, and when you let him know you can hurt him he has
to think two or three times before he tries to hurt you. But if you're not going to do nothing but return that hurt
with love--why good night! He knows you're out of your mind.
And also I had an opportunity to speak with President Azikiwe in Nigeria, President Nkrumah in Ghana, and
President Sekou Toure in Guinea. And in all of these people I found nothing but warmth, friendship, sympathy, and
a desire to help the Black man in this country in fighting our problem. And we have a very complex problem.
Now I hope you'll forgive me for just speaking so informally tonight, but I frankly think it's always better to be
informal. As far as I am concerned, I can speak to people better in an informal way than I can with all of this stiff
formality that ends up meaning nothing. Plus, when people are informal, they're relaxed. When they're relaxed,
their mind is more open, and they can weigh things more objectively. Whenever you and I are discussing our
problems we need to be very objective, very cool, calm, collected. But that doesn't mean we should always be.
There's a time to be cool and a time to be hot. See, you got messed up into thinking that there's only one time for
everything. There's a time to love and a time to hate. Even Solomon said that, and he was in that Book too. You're
just taking something out of the Book that fits your cowardly nature. And when you don't want to fight, you say,
"Well, Jesus said don't fight." But I don't even believe Jesus said that.
Also I am very pleased to see so many who have come out to always see for yourself, where you can hear for
yourself, and then think for yourself. Then you'll be in a better position to make an intelligent judgment for
yourself. But if you form the habit of listening to what others say about something or some one or reading what
someone else has written about someone, somebody can confuse you and misuse you. So as Afro-Americans or
Black people here in the Western Hemisphere, you and I have to learn to weigh things for ourselves. No matter
what the man says, you better look into it.
And a good example of why it's so important to look into things for yourself: I was on a plane between Algiers and
Geneva and it just happened that two other Americans were sitting in the two seats next to me. None of us knew
each other and the other two were white, one a male, the other a female. And after we had been flying along for
about forty minutes, the lady, she says, "Could I ask you a personal question?"
I said, '"Yes." She said, "Well--" she had been looking at my briefcase, and she said, "Well, what does that X--" she
says, "What kind of last name could you have that begins with X?" So I said, "That's it--X." And she said, "Well,
what does the 'M' stand for?" I said, "Malcolm." So she was quiet for about ten minutes, and she turned to me and
she says, "You're not Malcolm X?"
You see, we had been riding along in a nice conversation like three human beings, you know, no hostility, no
animosity, just human. And she couldn't take this, she said, "Well you're not who I was looking for," you know. And
she ended up telling me that she was looking for horns and all that, and for someone who was out to kill all white
people, as if all white people could be killed. This was her general attitude, and this attitude had been given her-this image had been given her by the press.

So before I get involved in anything nowadays, I have to straighten out my own position, which is clear. I am not a
racist in any form whatsoever. I don't believe in any form of racism. I don't believe in any form of discrimination or
segregation. . .